"Is Handonghun a Sanctuary?"... Opposition Voices Raise Over MBC Search and Seizure

The Democratic Party raised their voices, calling it "media oppression," in response to the police's search and seizure of MBC and an MBC reporter on the 30th regarding suspicions of personal information leakage of Minister of Justice Han Dong-hoon.

Democratic Party lawmaker Ko Min-jung stated on her social media (SNS) on the 30th, "Conducting a search and seizure on MBC Newsroom by linking an issue that happened more than a year ago is a clear case of media oppression," asserting this position.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The Anti-Corruption and Public Crime Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency conducted a search and seizure of MBC reporter Im Mo regarding the suspicion of personal information leakage of Minister Han on the same day. To identify the route through which personal information was leaked, investigators were sent to the National Assembly Secretariat's Legislative Affairs Division to review materials submitted to the National Assembly during the personnel hearing in April last year.

Lawmaker Ko said, "The reporter in question is the one who reported on President Yoon Seok-yeol's profanity scandal at the UN General Assembly last September, specifically the so-called 'Biden nallimyeon' report, and I even suspect this is a retaliatory investigation against reports that made the administration uncomfortable." She pointed out, "'Biden nallimyeon' report retaliation led to the reporter being denied boarding the presidential aircraft, which was mentioned as a case of 'violence and harassment' in the U.S. State Department's human rights report, causing international embarrassment not long ago."

Ko added, "Since the Yoon Seok-yeol administration, South Korea's press freedom has been plummeting without end due to lawsuits against media companies to create 'Ddaengyun News,' audits by the Board of Audit and Inspection, and attempts to dismiss the chairman of the Korea Communications Commission. Today's search and seizure will be recorded as another incident that destroys South Korea's press freedom index."

Fellow party member Kim Han-gyu also criticized on SNS, "The Yoon Seok-yeol government is abusing investigative authority to suppress both the media and the National Assembly that check the government simultaneously." He added, "The next target will be the offices of lawmakers who participated in Minister Han's personnel hearing at the time. Search and seizures will continue because opposition lawmakers informed the public about Minister Han through the media."

Kim said, "Is this how the Yoon Seok-yeol government's investigative authority is used? If you raise suspicions about the president and his spouse or offend the influential Minister Han, you face threats of search and seizure regardless of whether it is the media or the National Assembly." He added, "The term 'authoritarian government' is insufficient. The term 'dictatorship' is not at all an exaggeration."

Lawmaker Kim Yong-min stated, "They are using the pretext of Minister Han's personal information to inflict violence on disliked media. Those who remain silent or acquiesce here may be the next victims." He emphasized, "We must jointly point out injustice. Such ruthless investigations will accumulate and eventually rebound on the administration."